Last summer, after three years in which he provided great games and was one of Frankfurt's outstanding players, Lazio wanted to sign Philip Kostic.
The German club, realizing what he had in hand and wanting to make another leap forward, asked the Italians to submit a formal offer by email and gave the Eagles from Rome the wrong email address.
The Serb's agent reportedly revealed this, sent a screenshot to the actor and Kostic went on an Italian strike when he refused to train and demanded release.
Incoming coach Oliver Glasner took him for a four-way conversation, persuaded him to stay and after being punished by inviting the team to dinner at his home and apologizing to the fans, promised to do everything to atone on the pitch.
Now, eight months later, he is the most central man in Frankfurt's ambition to win tonight's first European Cup since 1980.
Frankfurt finished the German league this year only in 11th place but it can be said that at the end of the season it put all its eggs in wanting to get the farthest in the Europa League, winning it gives a ticket to the Champions League, and who put it there is Kostic who scored 3 goals and added 3 assists in -11 games.
In the away game against Barcelona in the quarter-finals, a game that made headlines mainly because of the German crowd that conquered the Camp Nou, Kostic provided one of the best games of his career, scoring twice and cooking on the way to a formidable 2: 3.
Kostic is celebrating with friends.
According to him, nothing will be settled, Photo: IPI
The game against Xavi and his players put him in the headlines even for those who knew him less and led to the obvious question - what has he done to this day when he was 29?
Kostic has suffered quite a bit over the years, been at the wrong time, in the wrong places.
After breaking out in the Dutch Groningen he came to Germany and relegated with Stuttgart and Hamburg, which caused quite a few people to criticize the former professional manager of Frankfurt - Freddie Bobic, who gambled on him in the summer of 2018.
Since Kostic has not stopped for a moment.
In the 2018/19 season he scored 10 goals and provided 13 assists in all competitions.
The following season, he improved with 12 goals and 21 assists in 51 appearances and last year he continued to deliver the goods with 21 goals involved in all competitions while in the league he netted 14 goals.
From the extreme left role, he has become one of the most enjoyable players to watch in Germany, has taken a permanent place in the Serbian national team that will play in the World Cup in Qatar and the team’s fans are in love with him as if he had grown up at the club.
Kostich with Frankfurt fans.
Apologized and provided a peak season, Photo: Getty Images
Kostic's greatness and tactical importance are further strengthened by the fact that he functions as a left winger who is also responsible for doing quite a bit of defensive work, something he has improved on this season, after years of neglecting this aspect of his game.
In Glasner's favorite 3: 4: 3/3: 4: 2: 1 formation, Kostic covers the entire left wing, giving him enough room to take advantage of his speed and show off his dribbling talent.
It is a hybrid between a defensive player who has to help his teammates when his team is attacked and be a key man when Frankfurt hold the ball and seek to score.
"Philip has the incredible ability to spot a free man in the middle, even when he is under the most pressure and technical quality to find him in the aisle," Glasner says.
Frankfurt have quite a few players who provide a peak season - Ansgar Knauf, Rafael Bora, Daichi Kamada and more but it seems that the final today for Frankfurt will rise and fall on Kostic.
Not only does he have a chance to get into the history books of Frankfurt, win his first title and play next season in the Champions League, he can finally give a stamp that he is finally where he belongs sportingly, i.e. at the top of European football.
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